2 Peter 1

The Explanation

Peter writes this letter when he is old. He knows he does not have long to live. Jesus Himself told him that. In verse 14 he says it like this: soon he will "put off his tent." His body is like a tent he lives in for a while, and soon he will move out. That is a beautiful way to talk about dying.

Because his time is short, Peter wants to say the most important things one more time. He writes to Christians who already know a lot. But Peter says: I am going to remind you anyway. Some things you need to hear more than once.

He begins by saying that God has given us everything we need to really live. Not just to breathe and eat, but to live the way God meant it. And He gives us huge promises. Peter calls them "precious and exceedingly great promises."

Then Peter says something surprising. Since God gives so much, you also have work to do. He names a kind of ladder. You start with faith. Add goodness to it. Then knowledge. Then self-control, so you can say no to yourself. Then perseverance, keeping on going when it is hard. Then godliness, living close to God. Then brotherly kindness. And at the very top: love.

If those things grow in you, Peter says, then you are truly getting to know Jesus. If they are missing, it is as if you have forgotten who you are.

At the end of the chapter Peter talks about something he himself experienced. He was on a mountain with Jesus once, and heard God's voice from heaven say: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Peter says: I did not make that up. I heard it with my own ears. And the Bible is even more reliable than that. It is like a lamp in a dark room, until morning comes.

What Does This Mean?

Peter says two things at the same time. God gives you everything, and yet you also have to make an effort. That sounds contradictory, but it is not. Think of a seed. The seed is a gift. But you still have to water it and pull the weeds, otherwise nothing grows.

Faith is like that. God gives it. But then it has to grow. And growing does not happen by itself. You practice, you fail, you try again. Peter is very honest about that.

The Common Thread

Peter did not always get everything right himself. This is the same Peter who once denied Jesus three times. He knows what it is to fall. And yet Jesus called him back and gave him a job. That is why he can now write with so much fire about knowing Jesus.

The whole letter points to Jesus. He is the one who called us. He is the one on the mountain, whose face shone. He is the one whose Kingdom is coming. And the Bible, Peter says, is like a lamp shining in the dark until "the morning star arises in your hearts." That morning star is Jesus Himself, bringing His light into you.

For You

You might think: I am only nine or ten, I do not have to grow in faith yet, that is for later. But Peter would say: no, start now.

You can practice self-control today. When you really want to say something mean back, and you do not do it. You can practice perseverance today. When homework is boring but you finish it anyway. You can practice brotherly kindness today. With that one classmate nobody really likes.

And when it does not work? Peter fell too. Then you get up and try again. God is not standing there with a clipboard checking off your mistakes. He is the One who gives you strength to keep going.

Read your Bible, even just a little. Peter calls it a lamp. In a dark room a small lamp is enough to see where you are walking.

Talk About It

If God gives us everything we need, why do we still have to try so hard ourselves? How does that fit together?

Peter says the Bible is like a lamp in a dark place. When have you noticed that the Bible really shows you something you did not see before?

Praying Together

Lord Jesus, thank You that You give us everything we need to know You. Help us to grow. In goodness, in patience, in love. When we fall, pick us up again. Let Your Word be a light for us. Amen.